Harare muJoni : musicking, placemaking and everyday citizenship of Zimbabwean immigrants in Johannesburg, South Africa

Abstract

The mass and social media coverage of Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa highlights the urgent need to address the xenophobic crisis. There appears to be a deliberate muting of ordinary Zimbabwean immigrants’ voices in the narrativisation of Johannesburg. This paper foregrounds Zimbabwean migration experiences not solely defined by abjection. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observation at music shows and social gatherings, it examines how Zimbabweans employ music-mediated practices to claim belonging and inclusion in the city. Findings reveal that immigrants use music to mediate sociality, build communities, and resist cultural erasure. Their musicking and placemaking practices, often enacted publicly, assert identity amid xenophobic threats while challenging dominant narratives of invisibility and crisis. These practices generate bonding and bridging social capital, strengthening resilience, visibility, and urban participation. The paper concludes that Zimbabwean immigrants’ experiences reveal richer dimensions of sociality and community-making than currently acknowledged in media discourse or academic literature.